Crystal Group appoints Tim Allen as new Non-Executive Chairman

Tim Allen the recently retired Chairman of NMBS has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Crystal Clear Group Limited. His appointment commenced 1st September. Crystal is the leading supplier of PVC-U and aluminium windows, doors and conservatories to builders, supplied directly via builders’ merchants. The position is a new one reflecting the Group’s continued growth and future direction, with current Chairman Martin Randall now assuming the role of CEO.

Allen is extremely well known within the merchant sector and is an experienced Non-Executive Chairman and Finance Director of both UK and international businesses, with a strong commercial and accounting focus, and a passion for building successful enterprises. He spent 20 years with Williams Holdings, a major FTSE 100 Group, and was Director of Corporate Finance, responsible for over £2 billion of acquisitions and £3 billion of disposals performed all over the world. Williams built up one of the most impressive collections of branded building products businesses in the late 1980s and 1990s with brands such as Crown Berger Paints, Cuprinal, Rawlplug , Swish, Valor, Chubb, Yale and Kidde, now one of America’s largest manufacturers of smoke alarms and fire safety equipment.

Since Williams, Allen has specialised as an investor and non-executive director, building a portfolio of companies. As chairman he sold Birchwood Products – a group that owned brands such as Defender, Rhino, and Scruffs to the BSS Group and more recently Anchor Fast Products a specialist outdoor furniture manufacturer

“I’m delighted to be joining Martin Randall and the Crystal Clear Group,” comments Allen. “Crystal has achieved a great deal in recent years, enabling merchants to build their share of a significant and valuable market, and I’m looking forward to helping Crystal continue to build on that foundation.”

CEO Martin Randall adds: “Tim has a wealth of knowledge within the building industry and merchant sector, acquired over many years with the biggest and best companies, and he knows how to help companies grow at a serious scale.

“We’ve worked very closely with the NMBS over the past five years and we’ve got to know each other very well. I have enormous respect for Tim and what he has achieved at NMBS and throughout his career. I look forward to building something exciting together.”